Constituency Office

Best Start Grant Payments Supporting Families In Time For Christmas

The Member of Scottish Parliament for Inverness and Nairn, Fergus Ewing MSP, has welcomed recent announcements from the Scottish Government that the first payments under the new Best Start Grant will be delivered to families in the Inverness and Nairn constituency in time for Christmas.

The Best Start Grant, implemented by Social Security Scotland, will seek to replace and expand on the UK Government’s Sure Start Maternity Grant. The scheme will provide low-income families with additional financial support during the early years of a child’s life.

Those eligible families will receive £600 of payment for their first child, an additional £100 compared to the UK Government’s equivalent for families in England, and £300 on the birth of any subsequent children.

SNP MSP, Fergus Ewing, said:

“This is great news for families living in the Highlands who will be eligible to receive their first payments under the Best Start grant in time for Christmas. These new payments will ensure that children under the age of five get the best possible start in life throughout those vital early years of development.

“I am pleased that the SNP Scottish Government are providing this support at a time when families in Inverness and Nairn are seeing the UK Government’s social security support being drastically reduced.

” People living in the Highlands will be well aware of the hardship that the implementation of the UK Government’s Universal Credit is causing to claimants across Scotland currently.

“It’s clear that reversing and mitigating these UK Government cuts, which have been so
damaging to families across the Highlands, is vital to ensuring that those families on the lowest incomes receive the support they need.

“The SNP Government are ensuring that the support being given to these families comes from a social security system based on dignity and respect.